The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-08-13
NINE YEARS IN A DREAM.
singular Effect of Bullet Wound on
Sthe Head.

ton HeTtllQ says: NOu0lnG gently to the
zepllyrs that ruffie up the surface of the
Kennebec river in this city there lies a
staunch looking sloop, with her PROV point
ing toward the old town landing, At her
helm. watching the blue wreaths of smoke
ascend heavenwardly from a briarwood
nipe, sits q man past the summer of life
He has half-soldier, half-salor appear
nnce, keen eye and an intelligent counte-
nance. His hair is long and hangs nearly to
his shoulders, curling at the ends It is vel
lowish gray in color, and very thick. A
moustache and goatee give him the appear
ance of a veteran of Napoleon's Old Guard,
while brass, eagle-emblazoned buttons on
his waistcoat and silver badge inlaid with
various colored stones, inform one that he
was once a soldier in Uncle Sans army.
and once listened to the ominous zip of the
minnie bullets as they chanted their SAN
culinary songs on the field of carnage.
The name of this man Is Lieut.. J. N.
Coffin He was born at Portsmouth, N. r. !,
in 1926 His life and adventures would fill
volumes, and story of his hairbreadth
escapes and thrilling adventures would
make scores of Juvenile Indian slayers and
embryo Buffalo Bills When he became old
enough his mother sent him to school, and
he scarcely missed a day during that period
of his life until he graduated at the Ports
mouth High School
California had fascination for him, and
thither he went and studied law. While in
the Golden State war broke out with Mex
leo, and he shouldered his musket, like many
of his New England brethren, to do battle
i'll his country's cause. He was at the storm
ing of Chepultepec, and entered the Mexi-
can fortress and made prisoner of the COM
mander before the colors We're pulled down.
For this meritoriouS conduct he was
MADE A SERGEANT.
This hardy son of the Granite State fol-
lowed the ever-varying fortunes of the war,
and, at it's close, he, with a company of
twenty five men, headed by his old Captain
in the Mexican war, John II. jackson, who
was a Colonel in the late war and
who is now, or was recently, employed in
the Boston custom house, started from
Panama in a dugout for the city of San
Francisco.
Lieut.. Coffin left the party in Mazatlan
and shipped before the mast on a French
whaler, and was wrecked in Mazatlan har-
Dor by tornado. Only nineteen out of a
crew Of sixty-eight survived. Lieut. Coffin
being one of four that reached the shore by
swimming. The rest were rescued by the
British man-ofwar Champion.
After spending many years in California
he returned to his native State, and when
the war between the States broke out he en-
listed as lieutenant in the Thirteenth New
Hampshire regiment. While stationed near
the Portsmouth tVa.) navy yard, stray
shot from the enemy grazed the top of his
head. This wound had most singular eff
feet upon his memory For nine years he
lived as one i'll a dream, and all the events
of the war were almost entirely forgotten
He was sent to the hospital attached to
the quartermaster's department in Alexan-
dria, Va, ard was afterwards transferred
to Lincoln Hospital in Washington, D. C.
His general health was good and he had the
use OF tools in the quaItermasters depart
ment, to which the hospital was attached
Having learned the carpenters trade in
Portsmouth n. H, when boy, the old
knack of handling tie plane and chisel
soon returned to him Ali that he did was
in sort of mechanical way. His memory
was so tickle that he was Obliged to make a
note of everything that he wished to re-
member. II he went down town for q
pound of nails or anything else without O
memorandum of what he was after henever
could remember what erranl he started on
In 1870 when Capt. Hall obtained COM
mission for an Arctic expedition a friend
procured Lieut.. Coffin the office of ships
carpenter on board the Polaris, thinking
that
CHANGE OF CLIMATE
might be of benefit to him. Little he
thought of the consequences, and the pecu-
lIarltieS that were to arise.
The Polaris started on her ever-memora-
BILE cruise, and Lieut.. Coffin gave entire sat
isfaction. rs still adhered to his habit of
making notes: and, fortunately he did, for he
would have had no history of mis- life from the
time he was struck by the stray bullet until
the return of his memory, nine years later.
1t may be remembered that the Poiaris
Fhaf@
any vessel ever had been before, passing
several degrees beyond the supposed ''open
sea" of DR.. Kane, proving that navlgator's
theory myth.
After putting the Polaris in winter quar-
tiers, Capt. Hall made dog-sedge journey
of several weeks toward the north pole He
reached latitude So IS, which was the
highest point ever reached by any white
@an. On his return, from great exhaus-
6on he was taken sick and died. 1t was
Lieut.. Collins sad privilege to make his
casket, in which he was placed, and follow
bis remains to the grave, hundreds of miles
further north than any other Christian
Nspulture
On the death of Capt. Hall the command
OF the Polaris devolved on Capt. Budding
ton. 1t was his intention, as soon as the
ship was released from the ice, to push on as
Tar as ne could the ensuing season. The
~e'N DSSiA " JelillliltA ny JIG lCc III llcl
winter quarters as to make her leak very
padiy, and in place which could not be
reached to be repaired.
III was SO late in the season before she was
released from the ice, and the difficulties of
proceeding further north in her crippled
condition SO great that it was thought best
TO return home Accordingly the ships
head was pointed toward the south and the
return voyage begun. The Polaris had not
proceeded far when she became embedded
IN the ice again and drifted south, attached
TO large foe, all the time exposed to the
danger of being crushed to pieces During
severe gale of wind the ship was in great
Danger, and preparations were made to
abandon her.
4, Provisions We're placed on the foe, and
the crew left the ship to trust their lives to
Uhe precarious chances of being picked up
some hundreds Of miles further south. This
was partly accomplished, about half of the
men being on the ice when the violence of
tne gale broke the ships fastenings and
"hlrled her away, and soon the parties were
OUT OF SIGHT OF EACH OTHER.
The ship was in a sinking condition, but
by great exertions she was finally ran on
shore.
Lieut.. Coffin was one of the seven men
who landed from the ship They built II
she'd or tent, from lumber and old canvas
obtained from the PoIaris, in which TO pass
the winter. While settled in this inhospi-
Table climate the strangeSt incident in Lieut.
Collins life took place.
For wears after being wounded in Virginia